^, 


^  ^ 

^J^^^^ 


^ 


**^^.^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


£f   |£°    12.0 

u 


Z2 


IL25  nil  1.4 


11.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STt.  J' 

WfBSTIR.N.Y.  MSM 

(716)t73-4S03 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproduutions  historiquas 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notat/Notat  tachniquaa  at  bibliographiquaa 


Tha  Instituta  has  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  bast 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturas  of  this 
copy  which  may  ba  bibiiographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagas  in  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  changa 
tha  usual  mathod  of  filming,  are  chackad  balow. 


□    Colourad  covars/ 
Couvarturo  da  coulaur 


I     I   Covars  damagad/ 


Couvartura  andommag6a 


□   Covars  rastorad  and/or  iaminatad/ 
Couvartura  rastaurte  at/ou  palliculte 

I      I   Covar  titia  missing/ 


D 


n 


D 


La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 

Colourad  maps/ 

Cartas  gtegraphiquas  Wi  coulaur 


□   Colourad  ink  (i.a.  othar  than  blua  or  black)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (i.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noire) 

[~~1   Colourad  platas  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planchas  at/ou  illustrations  0n  coulaur 


Bound  with  othar  material/ 
ReliA  avac  d'autres  documents 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serria  paut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  la  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  tha  *Mxt.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certainas  pages  blanches  ajoutAes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  la  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  iti  filmtes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmantairas; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  la  mailleur  axamplaira 
qu'il  lui  a  it6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaira  qui  sont  paut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographiqua,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  una 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


I     I   Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagtes 


n    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurias  at/ou  paJliculAes 


ages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  dicolories,  tachetAes  ou  piquAes 


□   Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ditachtes 

r~~L/Showthrough/ 
[JUr  Transparence 

I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Qualiti  inigale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  material  supplAmentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


n 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalament  ou  partieliement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  M  fiimies  A  nouveau  da  fapon  A 
obtenir  la  moillaure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

y 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

aiX                           32X 

The  copy  filmed  here  hae  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of  : 

Library  of  the  Public 
Archives  of  Canada 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reprodult  grAce  i  la 
gAnArosIt*  de: 

La  bibliothAque  das  Archives 
publlques  du  Canada 


Ti  le  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  In  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  lest  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  Ail 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  Impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — »•  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  4t4  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettet*  de  l'exemplaire  filmA,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fllmage. 

Les  exemplaires  origlnaux  dont  la  nouverture  en 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sent  filmte  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  termlnant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'Impression  ou  d'iliustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
origlnaux  sent  filmAs  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  cc»mporte  une  empreinte 
d'Impression  ou  d'iliustration  et  en  termlnant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboies  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  »►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  lerge  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  ere  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  Illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  A  des  taux  de  rAduction  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reprodult  en  un  seul  ciichA,  II  est  fllmA  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArleur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droits, 
et  de  haut  en  bes,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'Imeges  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

'UKii   m  f    •"Udia 


Mi 


,.'-<>■' 


NIAGARA. 


i 


1 


wmmm 


WPP  HI" 


NIAGARA, 


^  ^otw. 


BY  A.  M. 


NEW-YORK : 


J.  SEYMOUR,  PRINTER,  JOHN-STREET. 


1822. 


NIAGARA. 


I. 

Grandest  of  Nature's  works,  her  wildest  wreck, 
Or  stateliest  shrine !    Wliat  ear,  Niagara, 
Thrills  not?  what  eye  unstartled  shall  survey 
Thy  loud  and  raging  waters,  as  they  break 
Full  o'er  the  fearful  precipice,  and  whelm 

Thy  sea-green  Naiads »  in  the  gulf  below  ? 
Through  many  a  stormy  lake,  ^  and  boundless  realm, 

And  well-fought  field  «•  thy  winding  currents  flow. 
Watering  the  woods,  and  herds,  and  creatures  rude, 
That  haunt  thy  brink  their  hasty  draught  to  steal ; 
And  now  for  toil  or  pastime,  float  or  keel, 
Smooth  as  a  glass  expands  th'  united  flood  ;  •' 
That  youth  deluded  by  the  flattering  gleam, 
Might  trust  with  arm  secure  the  tameness  of  thy  stream, 


i 


() 


II. 


But,  lo !  the  rocks — and,  like  a  maniac  moved, 
At  once  thy  rage  begins,  and  all  around 
Vex'd  by  th'  obstreperous  waves  thy  shores  resound ; 
Check'd  by  the  steadfast  reef,  as  one  reproved, 
More  fierce  the  torrent  raves,  and  flings  his  froth 
Aloft,  and  tosses  on  his  flinty  bed. 
Ill  fares  the  wretch, «  who  there  by  night  misled. 
Strives  with  strain'd  oar  against  its  matchless  wrath  : 
For  close  before  him  sinks  the  dreadful  steep  ; 

O'er  which  th  Herculean  stream  f  shall  quickly  hurl 
Him  and  his  struggling  bark,  with  headlong  whirl, 
Dash'd  on  the  turrets  of  the  craggy  deep, 
Many  a  dark  fathom  down.     The  stunning  roar 
Ontario's  6  ramparts  shakes,  and  Erie's  distant  shore. 


III. 


For  as  th'  incessant  and  ear-rending  clang, 

When  war's  red  bolt  conflicting  navies  urge, 
Rolls  round  the  brows  and  caverns,  that  o'erhang 

The  main,  and  mingles  with  the  plunging  surge : 
Or  as  'mongst  Alpine  or  Ceraunian  peaks 

His  angry  trump  the  midnight  thunder  blows ; 

And  rocks,  and  vales,  and  woods,  and  towering  snows, 
Fling  round  the  restless  peal,  while  o'er  them  breaks 
From  all  heav'ns  windows  sluiced  the  rushing  shower  : 

Such  noises  loud  and  deep  for  ever  rave 
Among  those  foaming  waters,  as  they  pour 

Down  on  that  wrathful  and  tormented  cave,"" 
Their  smouldering  crater,  in  whose  ample  bound 
As  in  some  caldron  huge  they  burst  and  boil  around. 


8 


IV. 


Up  flies  the  steaming  spray,  and  on  the  flood 
Sheds  the  dire  umbrage  of  its  winding  shroud ; 
Yet  ere  to  heaven  it  wreathes  its  hoary  cloud, ' 

Far  ofT  conspicuous,  In  her  wildest  mood  * 

Sweet  Iris''  wantons  there,  and  sketches  gay 
Many  a  bright  segment  of  her  tinted  bow. 
That  float  their  moment  till  the  breezes  blow 

The  draft  and  shadowy  tablet  both  away. 

Now  stand  we  on  the  thin  and  dizcy  ledge* 
Self-poised  and  pendent  o'er  the  black  abyss, 

And  lean,  and  listen  by  the  torrent's  edge,     ^ 
And  watch  its  fall,  and  hear  it  roar  and  hiss, 
Like  serpent  foul"  whereof  old  sages  sing. 
Or  ileWs  divan  transformed  to  hail  their  venturous  king 


'i,  M 


.p 


# 


V. 

Descend  we  next  to  where  the  beetling  cHAs 
Hang  their  high  cornice  o'er  the  margent  steep, 
Whose  uncouth  slope  their  crumbling  fragments  heap, 
Sole  track  to  yon  dark  portal,"  that  uplifts 
In  gothic  guise  its  pointed  crown,  and  leads 
To  the  dread  cloister,  in  whose  vaulted  groin 
The  shelving  beds  and  gushing  billows  join, 
And  rock  and  river  blend  their  arched  heads. 
There  crawl  the  slimy  reptiles  of  the  deep,  ^ 

Glazing  ih'  obnoxious  path,  and  dimly  seen 
By  the  dull  lantern  of  that  drizzling  skreen  ; 
Through  which  day's  beams  with  faint  refraction  peep, 
A  baleful  radiance  pale,  that  gives  the  night 
Perplexing  gleams  obscure,  the  shades  of  tortured  light. 


10 


VI. 


Press  not  too  far  thy  hardy  search,  nor  trust 
The  doubtful  chambers  of  that  untried  maze : 
Know'st  thou  what  base  its  leaning  wall  upstays  f 
What  floods  lie  hid  behind  ?  what  treacherous  crust 
Roofs  the  blind  chasm,  that  cracks  beneath  thy  tread  ? 
"What  blights  may  blast  thee,  what  sub-aqueous  sound 
May  mock  thy  echoing  steps,  thy  sense  astound  ? 
Or  tempt  thee  where  some  rash  adventurer  dead 
Lies  wasting  unentomb'd  f  mark,  what  a  blast     ' 
Bursts  from  the  chilling  entrance !  storm  and  shower 
Breathe  stern  forbiddance  from  the  jealous  bower : 
As  if  the  demon  of  thai  cataract  vast. 
Sole  anarch  there,  abhorr'd  that  tongue  sliculd  tell 
That  mortal  sight  should  pierce  the  secrets  of  his  cell. 


11 


VII. 


But  now  the  Charon  of  the  nether  stream  « 
Waves  his  light  oar,  and  wafts  us  o'er  the  tide. 
With  staggering  step  we  scale  the  rugged  side, 
Fast  by  yon  lofty  ridge ;  o'er  whose  broad  beam 
With  stealthy  lapse  at  first  the  glassy  plane? 
In  one  bright  sheet  descends,  then  streaming  all 
With  tresses  green,  that  whiten  as  they  fall, 
Dash'd  to  ten  thousand  dews  and  dusts  of  rain. 
Breaks  on  the  crags  beneath,  its  rugged  floor. 

The  ruins  of  its  rage ;  through  whose  hoarse  caves 
And  countless  crannies  forced  the  foaming  waves, 
'Scaped  their  Tarpeian  pitch,  «>  with  fresh  uproar 
Rush  headlong  down,  and  deeper  as  they  swell 
The  mixt  majestic  choir,  that  shakes  that  wondrous  dell. 


12 


VIII. 


Between  the  branches  of  the  horned  flood 
With  shade  of  loftiest  growth  and  sunny  smile, 
Commingling  graced  a  cool  sequester'd  isle^ ' 
Crowns  the  high  steep,  and  from  its  echoing  wood 
Proclaims  the  tumults  of  the  restless  vale 
Far  round,  and  calm  as  Dian's  argent  brow 
Brush'd  by  the  clouds,  o'erlooks  the  storm  below. 
There  many  a  stranger  woos  the  breathing  gale, 
Worn  with  his  toilsome  ramble :  there,  they  say, 
Stern  Winter  oft  his  shining  armoury*  rears. 
Framed  in  his  icy  forge ;  with  crystal  spears 
And  diamond  lances  hangs  each  bending  spray. 
Each  trunk  with  mail,  or  helm,  or  buckler  bright, 
By  man's  slow  toils  unmatched,  the  fabric  of  a  night. 


13 


IX. 


Back  o'er  tne  bridge,*  whicli  daring  art  has  thrown 
Wide  o'er  the  brawling  pass  (whose  yesty  streams 
Flash  through  each  crevice  of  the  dancing  beams) 
We  haste :  the  sleepless  torrent  hurrying  on     i  'f  ^ 
Tow'rds  its  high  leap,  and  whirling  on  its  way 
Th'  uprooted  pine  and  oak.    The  scaly  herds 
Against  it  tire  their  powerless  helms :  the  birds 
Of  strongest  flight,  down  stooping  for  their  prey 
On  that  disastrous  current,  rise  no  more. 
Caught  by  the  liquid  hurricane  they  strain 
'        Their  ineffectual  wings,  and  flap  in  vain ; 

With  screams  unnatural  tow'rds  th'  increasing  roar. 
Forced  on  at  length  in  silence  down  they  go. 
And  glut  th'  insatiate  gorge,  that  yawns  and  yells  below. 


' ."  i 


14 


X. 


ii 


There  lifeless  oft  the  wanderers  of  the  wave 

In  glittering  shoals  are  seen ;  there  sylvan  stores, 
Swoln  beasts,  and  fractured  beams,  which  to  their  shores 

Wreck'd  from  those  Ttttal  heights  the  waters  lave, 

Or  waft  promiscuous  down,  where  now  between 
Their  towering  banks, "  far  from  the  wrath  behind, 
Hurrying  as  if  dismay'd  and  dark  they  wind 

Their  deep  contracted  deluge. — Pregnant  scene !    . 

Wherein  fall'n  power  its  own  sad  act  may  trace ; 

Power,  that  by  bounteous  heaven  froiu  obpcure  source 
Advanced,  with  boundless  rule  and  headlong  course 

Long  flows ;  by  ills  at  times,  the  rocks  of  grace, 
Check'd,  not  chastised,  still  pours  its  fortunes  on, 
Wherewith  the  world  resounds,  and  topples  from  its  throne. 


15 


XI. 


A  turbid  solitude  succeeds,  uncheer'd 

By  Fame's  retiring  trump,  that  loud  no  more, 
But  makes  despair  more  joyless  *  as  the  roar 
Of  yon  high-falling  flood  remotely  heard, 
Saddens  the  troubled  stream,  that  groans  below. 
There,  save  that  lonely  skiff,  no  swelling  sail 
Leans  her  coy  bosom  from  the  wanton  gale ; 
Lest  with  its  eddying  ebb  her  helpless  prow 
The  refluent  tide  should  seize,  and  drift  above 
To  th'  howling  base  of  that  pernicious  steep, 
Plunged  in  its  whelming  shower,  who  knows  how  deep  ? 
Or  whirPd  how  long  upon  its  watery  wheel ! 
In  the  dark  dungeon  of  that  hideous  cove ; 
Whence  scarce  the  buoyant  Muse  retrieves  her  vent'rous  keel. 


16 


XII. 


Niagara,  such  art  thou :  to  equal  thee, 

What  are  the  brooks  of  Wales,  or  statelier  Clyde,  ^ 

Or  Anio,  or  Velino,^  or  the  tide 
That  shoots  the  slopes  of  Nile?''  thy  breadth  a  sea, 
Thy  shock  an  earthquake,  and  thy  awful  voice 

The  sound  of  many  waters.     Grand  and  bold 
Columbia  thus,  the  child  of  Nature's  choice, 

Scales  all  her  wonders  to  the  Khodian  mould,  y 
Her  lakes  are  oceans,  every  stream  a  bay. 

Wide  through  her  frame  its  branching  artery  throws 
Her  mountains  kiss  the  moon  :  her  sapient  sway 

A  beauteous  belt '  hath  wrought,  whose  ties  enclose 
Tribes  without  end,  realm  after  realm  embraced 
In  Freedom's  opening  arms,  the  savage  and  the  waste. 


''■I 


NOTES. 


»  Thy  sea-green  J^aiads. 

I 

The  colour  of  the  falling  water  at  Niagara,  though  of  course 
perfectly  fresh,  is  a  beautiful  sea-green. 


i  + 


'»  Through  many  a  stormy  lake,  ^c. 

The  river  Niagara,  which  supplies  the  falls,  may  be  traced 
through  many  lakes,  and  particularly  lakes  Superior,  Huron, 
and  Erie,  the  former  about  1600,  and  each  of  the  two  latter 
about  800,  miles  in  circumference.  About  fourteen  miles  be- 
low the  falls  it  empties  itself  into  Lake  Ontario,  but  little  infe* 
rior  in  dimensions  to  Lake  Erie. 


,: 


c  And  well-fought  field. 

This  river,  and  the  lakes  through  which  it  flows,  being  ori- 
ginally a  natural,  as  they  are  now  a  conventional  boundary,  be- 
tween the  American  and  Canadian  territories,  have  been  the 
scene  of  many  well-known  actions  between  the  Indians,  French, 
and  EngUsh,  and  between  the  latter  and  the  United  States. 


18 


«i  IV  united  flood. 

About  five  miles  below  lake  Erie,  the  river  Niagara  is  di- 
vided into  two  streams  forming  an  island,  called  Grand  Island, 
about  12  miles  long,  and  nearly  as  wide  ;  below  which  they  are 
re-united  into  one  broad  and  smooth  expanse,  which  continues 
about  two  miles,  till  it  reaches  the  rapids ;  down  which  it 
runs  through  reefs  of  rocks  falling  about  fifty  feet  in  the  course 
of  the  last  mile  ;  it  is  then  again  divided  by  a  small  island, 
called  Goat  Island,  and  falls  on  each  side  of  it  over  the  pre- 
cipices wliich  form  the  Great  Cataracts. 

e  HI  fares  the  wretch,  ^c. 

In  November,  1821,  two  men  (supposed  to  be  intoxicated) 
fastened  their  boat  to  a  wooden  bridge  across  the  Chippeway 
Creek,  (which  empties  itscU  into  the  Niagara  on  the  Canadian 
side,  about  two  miles  above  the  falls,)  and  fell  asleep.  By  some 
means,  the  boat  being  probably  ill-secured,  got  loose  with  the 
men  in  it,  and  drifted  into  the  rapids  ;  where  they  avoke  in 
the  greatest  agitation,  and  were  hurried  over  the  falls,  and  lost. 
A  table,  which  they  had  on  board,  was  seen  a  few  days  after- 
wards floating  down  the  stream  ;  but  neither  the  boat,  nor  either 
of  the  men  has  ever  been  heard  of  since. 


'  T/i'  Herculean  stream. 

Alluding  not  only  to  the  size  and  strength  of  the  cataract,  but 
to  the  well-known  story  of  Hercules,  who  in  his  last  frenzy 
flung  Lichas,  his  attendant,  from  the  top  of  Mount  ^ta,  in 
Greece,  into  the  sea  between  Locris  and  Eubaea. — Ovid's  Met. 
lib.  9. 1.  21  ] .     Mill.  Par.  Lost,  h.  2. 1.  544. 


19 


is 


K  Ontario* s  ramparts ,  ^c. 

Fori  George,  situated  on  the  Canadian,  and  Fort  Niagara  on 
the  American  side  of  the  river  Niagara,  at  its  entrance  into 
Lake  Ontario,  distant  about  fourteen,  as  its  outlet  from  Lake 
Erie  is  about  twenty  miles  from  the  falls.  At  both  these  points 
their  sound  is  often  heard  like  distant  thunder,  particularly  in 
calm  weather,  and  in  the  stillness  of  the  night. 


W"': 


•«  Tormented  cave. 

The  cataract  next  to  the  Canadian  shore  is  nearly  in  the 
shape  of  a  horse-shoe,  or  of  the  pit  of  a  modern  theatre  ;  and  if 
the  reader  will  suppose  the  water  to  pour  over  from  the  gallery 
and  upper  side  boxes,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  perpendi- 
cular, he  will  have  some  idea  of  the  shape,  but  none  whatever 
either  of  the  magnitude  or  of  the  noise  of  this  stupendous  fall, 
or  of  the  unapproachable,  vast  cavern  which  ingulfs  it.  Its 
circuit  is  about  800  or  900,  and  its  chord  about  300  yards,  from 
one  point  of  the  horse-shoe  to  the  other. 


■'^1 


*  Its  hoary  cloud. 

The  clouds  of  spray,  which  are  perpetually  hovering  over 
these  cataracts,  are  often  seen  at  Buffaloe  on  Lake  Erie  as  far 
as  their  sound  is  heard.     See  Note  g. 


k  Sweet  Iris,  ^c. 

Portions  of  rjiinbows  are  often  seen  at  these  falls,  varying 
according  to  the  position  of  the  sun.  The  author  saw  many, 
and  particularly  observed  a  small  segment  of  one  about  ten 


20 


tieet  high,  rising  to  the  upper  skirt  of  the  spray -cloud,  that  sus- 
tained it,  and  resting  its  lower  end  upon  the  surface  of  the  tor- 
rent, as  if  it  grew  out  of  the  water.  In  an  instant  the  wind 
shifted,  the  vapour  was  dispersed,  and  the  brilliant  image  va- 
nished like  a  spirit. 

•  The  thin  and  dizzy  ledge. 

This  is  a  thin  plate  or  slab  of  rock,  projecting  from  the  high 
bank  on  the  Canadian  side,  upon  a  level  with,  and  close  by  the 
end  of,  the  horse-shoe  fall.  It  overhangs  the  base  of  the  cliff, 
on  which  it  rests,  48  feet ;  and  is  the  perilous  place  to  which 
every  visiter  is  conducted,  as  the  most  favourable  point  for 
viewing  the  whole,  or  at  least  the  grandest  part,  of  this  inde- 
scribable scene. 

•n  Like  serpent  foul,  «J"C. 

See  Ovid's  Met.  lib.  3.  1.  48.  Find.  01.  Od.  8.  Ep.  2,  and 
Milt.  Par.  Lost,  b.  10.  1.  605,  and  Sequel. 


^  To  yon  dark  portal. 

This  is  a  dark  opening  formed  by  the  hanging  rock,  and 
shooting  cataract,  in  the  shape  of  a  lofty  gothic  arch  ;  under 
which  the  author,  after  several  anxious  but  unsuccessful  efforts, 
was  prevented  from  proceeding  more  than  a  few  yards,  by  the 
violent  tempest  of  wind  and  rain,  which  continually  issues  from 
it.  To  account  for  this  singular  phenomenon  is  not  easy  •,  it 
seemed,  however,  to  the  author,  that  the  innumerable  columns 
;ind  fragments  of  air,  which  are  intermingled  with,  and  forced 


-21 


^ 


down  by  the  falling  water,  must  necessarily  release  themnelveH 
at  the  bottom  ;  and  that  half  of  them  at  least  must  force  their 
way  into  the  passage  between  the  cataract  and  the  rock.  Out 
of  this  prison  they  have  no  other  vent  but  through  the  vaulted 
opening,  where  the  author  encountered  the  irresistible  storm, 
which  all  visiters  experience,  and  the  cause  of  which  he  is  un- 
i^ble  to  explain  upon  any  other  principle. 


o  The  Charon  of  the  nether  stream. 

After  walking  down  the  stream  from  the  horse-shoe  cataract 
on  the  Canadian  side,  about  half  a  mile,  you  are  opposite  to  the 
cataract  on  the  American  side,  which  is  separated  from  the 
former  by  Goat  Island.  The  reader  will  observe,  that  the 
river  runs  westward  towards  the  falls,  and  then  turns  suddenly 
to  the  north ;  so  that  the  line  of  the  falls  is  almost  diagonal 
across  the  elbow  of  the  river ;  and  consequently  the  visiter, 
after  looking  at  the  horse-shoe  fall  on  the  Canadian  or  western 
side,  must  go  downwards  on  that  side  some  way  before  he  can 
be  opposite  to  the  cataract  on  the  American  side.  He  thea 
descends  from  the  cliffs  near  200  feet  to  the  water's  edge* 
where  a  single  ferryman  rows  him  in  a  little  wherry  across  the 
eddying  torrent,  and  lands  him  just  below  the  latter  cataract. 


It 


r 


Ml 


P  The  glassy  plane,  ^c. 

This  branch  of  the  cataract  breaks  off  nearly  in  an  even 
line  from  the  American  side  towards  Goat  Island,  falls  upon  a 
shapeless  pile  of  rocks,  that  have  been  precipitated  from 
above,  and  rushes  through  their  various  openings  into  the 
lower  river. 


22 


Q  ^Scaped  their  Tarpeian  pitch. 

It  is  aunost  unnecessary  to  infonii  the  reader,  that  the  Tar- 
peian rock  was  the  precipice  of  the  Capitol  at  Rome,  over 
which  great  criminals  were  sometimes  thrown. 

I  '  .^  cool  sequestered  isle. 

This  19  Goat  Island,  consisting  of  about  twenty  acres  of  lofty 
wood,  and  belonging  to  Judge  Porter;  who  has,  with  great 
skill  and  spirit  thrown  a  wooden  bridge,  resting  on  7  or  8  piers, 
from  the  American  shore  to  a  small  island,  distant  about  600 
yards,  and  from  thence  another,  about  one  third  as  long,  to 
Goat  Island.  To  this  interesting  spot  the  visiter  may  now  fear- 
lessly resort,  and  standing  on  the  precipice  at  its  western  end, 
find  himself  placed  between  the  two  cataracts,  looking  down 
160  feet  perpendicular  upon  the  nether  torrent. 


■  His  shining  armoury  rears. 

Since  this  little  poem  was  written,  the  author  has  observed 
this  expression,  of  which  he  was  quite  unconscious,  in  Cowper's 
Task,  b.  5.  It  is,  however,  used  there  to  introduce  a  tniin  of 
thoughts  so  very  different,  that  he  does  not  feel  himself  open 
to  the  charge  of  plagiarism  in  suffering  it  to  remain.  The  clouds 
of  spray  which  are  always  rising  from  these  stupendous  falls, 
are  speedily  congealed  during  the  winter,  and  settle  on  the 
neighbouring  trees,  casing  the  trunks  with  coats  of  ice,  and 
hanging  the  branches  with  a  thousand  icicles. 


23 


*  Back  o*er  the  bridge. 

This  bold  fabric  was  constructed  by  protruding  long  beamfi 
of  timber  horizontally  from  the  bank,  and  sending  out  men  on 
the  ends,  which  hung  over  the  water,  (and  which  were  coun- 
terpoised with  heavy  weights  placed  on  the  ends  that  rested  on 
the  land,)  for  the  purpose  of  driving  piles,  or  fixing  upon  a  pier 
of  rock  for  their  support.  This  being  accomplished,  a  second 
set  of  beams  were  protruded  in  the  same  manner  from  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  Hrst,  till  a  second  pier  was  gained  ;  a  third  fol- 
lowed, and,  by  a  repetition  of  the  same  process,  the  whole 
structure  was  completed. 


w  Ttieir  towering  banks,  ^c. 

For  the  space  of  about  seven  miles  from  the  falls  to  Queens- 
town,  the  river,  or  rather  torre  it,  rushes  along  between  two 
rows  of  cliffs,  rising  to  the  height  of  200  feet ;  through  which 
during  a  series  of  ages  it  seems  to  have  worn  or  torn  its  way. 
From  hence  some,  with  much  appearance  of  reason,  have  sup- 
posed, that  the  falls  were  originally  at  Queenstown,  where  the 
level  of  the  country  sinks  almost  suddenly  to  a  flat  but  a  little 
higher  than  the  surface  of  the  river  ;  and  that  as  the  rocky  bed 
of  the  latter  has  given  way  and  deepened,  the  falls  have  gradu- 
ally receded  to  their  present  site. 


■■■  I 


'  The  brooks  of  Wales,  or  statelier  Clyde. 

There  are  many  picturesque  and  interesting  waterfalls  in 
Wales,  one  at  a  most  romantic  place  called  the  Devil's  Bridge, 
falling  above  300  feet ;  but  very  few  of  them  fall  100  feet,  and 
the  streams  which  supply  them  are  but  rivulets  or  very  narrow 


I; 


24 


rivers,  the  largest  not  exceeding  50  yards  in  breadth,  and  very 
few  of  them  above  twenty.  The  Clyde  in  Scotland  is  a  large 
river  for  that  country,  but  the  fall  is  not  great.  .,.  . 

,1  '.  ■ ,  .   '  'i 

"  Anio  orVelino.  '  *    '* 

The  celebrated  falls  of  Tivoli,  near  Rome,  upon  which  so 
many  pencils  and  pens  have  been  employed,  are  formed  by  the 
descent  of  the  headlong  Anio,  (Strabo,  Hb.  6,  364,)  as  the  Cas- 
cata  del  Marmore  of  Terni  is  by  that  of  the  Velino.  See  Lord 
Byron's  Childe  Harolde,  canto  4,  stan.  69. 
1  ,-.•■.  ^  '    -  ,. 

«  The  slopes  of  ^'.ie.       •    ■• 

Modem  travellers  inform  us,  that  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile 
are  not  precipitous,  but  that  they  merely  pour  down  a  rocky 
declivity,  not  much  exceeding  in  steepness  some  of  the  rapids 
ofAmerica.  -;  •:,'':'■"  ^^i 

y  T%e  Rhodian  mould.      -  '    '       ' 

Alluding  to  the  celebrated  Colossus  at  Rhodes,  a  brazen  sta- 
tue of  Apollo,  105  feet  high. 

.  •? 

«  A  beauteous  hulL  '  ,  " 

Meaning  the  federaiive  principle,  by  which  so  many  states 
and  territories  have  been,  and  so  many  more  may  be  added  to 
the  American  union.  . ,        .  ■.  ,. 


